Harry Potter and the Changed Past
by ArgentNoelle
Summary: Harry, Ron, and Hermione never meant to go into the past, but that's what happened ... and now nothing is how they remember it.
1. The Strange Girl

Harry Potter and the Changed Past

(So, this story is a story I was telling to my sister, and she thought I should write it down. It might sound a little different because it was originally told instead of written. Also, it is not finished yet but I have told a lot more of it which I just haven't written down.)

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Chapter One - The Strange Girl

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One day during Sixth Year Harry Potter was in the Hogwarts library working on a comparison/contrast essay for history. He was trying to write it, but he didn't know anything about the subject he was supposed to write about because Professor Bins was so boring. So, he would look at Hermione's notes, then back at his essay, trying to write it. He hoped it would at least be better than Ron's essay. Sometimes Ron put very strange things at the beginning or end of his essays, because he had run out of things to say.

Just then, a strange girl he didn't recognize came in. She walked straight to Harry, and glared at him. Then she spoke. "It's all your fault!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"It's all you're fault!" She repeated, drawing her wand and pointing it at Harry.

"Calm down," said Harry, leaning away. "What's my fault?"

But she wouldn't say anything else. She only tried to attack Harry. Harry drew his own wand and faced off with her, and Ron and Hermione grabbed her arms. After a brief struggle, she stopped fighting, but still glared at Harry.

"What is my fault?" he asked. But she said nothing.

Eventually, they decided to take her to the hospital wing. Madam Pomphrey put her on a bed, and tried to figure out who she was, and what was going on. No one had any idea of who the strange girl might be. They thought she must be a Muggle, but she had a wand—and seemed to know how to use it. They couldn't even use her wand for identification, as she wouldn't let anyone within three feet of her.

Finally Dumbledore came, and they did what they always did when they didn't know what to do (instead of doing something that might actually be of any use) they put her under the Sorting Hat.

The Sorting Hat started to say something, then she frowned. The Hat stopped. It started to say something else, but she frowned even harder, and it didn't speak. After a few moments it made to speak again, but she scowled. Finally, the Hat said, grudgingly, "Gryffindor."

Then it sulked, and wouldn't speak to anybody.

Hermione was very happy about the girl getting into Gryffindor—Not. She thought the girl might mean to murder Harry in his bed. So she decided to stay awake and make sure she didn't go anywhere. Hermione stayed up for one hour. The girl didn't go anywhere.

Hermione stayed up for another hour. The girl still didn't go anywhere. Hermione was getting tired.

Hermione stayed up for another hour. The girl _still_ didn't go anywhere.

Hermione was yawning.

Hermione stayed up for yet _another_ hour. The girl stayed in bed. Hermione's eyes were drooping.

Hermione stayed up for another hour. She woke up when she fell off her bed and onto the floor. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

Hermione raced down the steps and through the common room, up the steps and into the boys' dormitory. She ran to Harry's bed and pulled the curtain wide, drawing her wand and pointing it at—Harry woke up with Hermione's wand an inch from his nose. "Hermione, what are you doing?" he asked. Hermione told him her suspicions. They woke up Ron, and crept down to the common room. Harry took his cloak with him. They decided to go out and follow the girl.

They went out the portrait hole and through the corridors. They sneaked this way and that way, trying to find the girl. But they didn't find her. Then, they heard someone's voice—_it was Voldemort's_. What was Voldemort doing in Hogwarts?! They looked at each other, and peered around the corner.

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	2. A Little Thing

Chapter Two – A Little Thing

* * *

The strange girl was sitting in the corridor, her back to the wall. There was a little thing on her lap, and Voldemort's voice was coming from it. And then Harry's voice came out of it too. They were exchanging Death Threats.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at each other. They sneaked a little closer to the girl. Harry and Voldemort's voices were still coming out of the thing.

They sneaked a little closer.

The girl looked up. She turned her head, and stared straight at them suspiciously. The trio held their breath. Finally, she turned away again.

Hermione wanted to know what was on the Little Thing. Why were Harry and Voldemort's voices coming out of it? She held out her wand, and said, "Accio Thing!" The Thing zoomed toward her, and Hermione caught it. The girl stood up, and began to chase them as they ran away. They ran right around the castle three times! Well no they didn't, but that's what it felt like. Finally, though, they lost her down a corridor by hiding behind a suit of armour. They sat down in a circle under the invisibility cloak, with the Little Thing in the middle. Now, they could see it had pictures on it.

Harry and Voldemort, to be precise. They were _still_ exchanging Death Threats. This is a big deal for Mortal Enemies, you know. Then they heard other sounds. It sounded awful. It sounded horrifying. It sounded…a lot like movie sound effects.

Harry and Voldemort started to duel.

They both cast a spell.

The spells raced through the air…

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…and Harry fell down, dead.

The credits rolled.

The three stared at it in disbelief. Harry felt numb. He had just learned of his impending death, after all. Ron's mouth was hanging open. Hermione started poking at the Little Thing. A bit of the screen popped up above the rolling credits. It had words on it. It seemed almost like a button. Hermione poked at the Little Thing again. The credits paused. She poked at it again. They started rolling.

Nothing happened for a few moments.

Hermione kept poking at the Little Thing.

Another button popped up on the screen. It said only this:

_Click to change_.

Hermione looked at the others, who leaned over to read the words.

"What's that mean?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said.

"Maybe it'll change the ending," Harry said hopefully.

Hermione poked at the Little Thing again, and a tiny blue tornado of rushing wind and light came out of the Little Thing. It swept up Harry, and Ron, and Hermione, and swirled around, before finally sucking itself back into the Little Thing—and Harry, Hermione, and Ron came with it.

The corridor was deserted, except for a Little Thing, under an invisibility cloak, behind a suit of armour.

The night was quiet and undisturbed.

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	3. Happy Birthday Again

Chapter 3 – Happy Birthday Again

* * *

Harry woke up, feeling very woozy. He looked around. He was in a place he recognized at once. It was the Hut on the Rock, the place uncle Vernon had escaped to from the letters, the place Harry had celebrated his eleventh birthday.

Harry sat up, and felt Hagrid's coat fall off him onto the floor. He looked over at Hagrid, who was sleeping soundly on the couch. He blinked, and looked down at himself. He was a lot smaller than he had been a moment before…in fact, he was eleven.

Where was Ron and Hermione? He thought. And what was he doing here? The last thing he remembered was looking at a Little Thing, Hermione had poked at it, and then, there had been a blue…light…something…he couldn't remember anything else.

He looked over into the doorway to the other room to find Dudley staring at him. "What happened?" Dudley asked shakily.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You! You were sleeping, and then there was a blue light…it was like a tornado…and then you went all strange. It was magic, wasn't it?"

"Um…" said Harry. "No?"

Dudley didn't believe him.

"It _was_ magic!" he said.

"Fine," Harry answered. "It was magic." Dudley closed the door quickly between them.

Harry looked at Hagrid. Maybe he should wake him up, he thought, and tell him what had happened. But would Hagrid even believe him?

He heard Dudley's voice behind the door, and then Uncle Vernon's and Aunt Petunia's. He could clearly make out the word 'magic' being repeated several times. Harry wasn't thinking very straight. He stood up, and looked around the room. He didn't have time to wake Hagrid, he thought wildly, the Dursleys would be after him any minute. He had to get away.

Harry ran to the door and threw it open. Outside, the storm had stopped, and the sea was still, in the pre-dawn light. He looked down at the boat.

Inside, he heard Durselys getting out of bed.

Harry ran down the slope to the boat, and got in. He began to row. He looked back at the Hut. It wasn't getting any farther away! Then he realized he had forgotten to untie the rope that held it there. He undid the rope, and started to row again. He couldn't go very fast—he was only eleven, and not very strong. He was so frantic that he dropped one of the paddles—but that was alright, since they were attached to the boat. He picked it up again and kept rowing. He was halfway across when he realized the foolishness of what he had been doing. Hagrid had his key, and was going to take him to Diagon Alley. The Dursleys couldn't do anything to him. He had no plan at all.

Harry turned to begin rowing back, and came face to face with a mermaid.

For one awful moment Harry and the mermaid stared at one another in silence, and then Harry gave a yelp and scrambled for the paddles. He rowed like there were Dementors after him, all the way to the shore—he got out of the boat and began to run—he kept running—he slowed to a walk—he looked around.

He was in a city. And, unfortunately, he was lost.

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	4. Hermione's New Family

Chapter 4 – Hermione's New Family

* * *

Hermione woke up in her bed at home, feeling very woozy. She sat up, looking around. She realized that she was…_eleven_. They must have traveled into the past!

Then she noticed the other person in the room with her, leaning against a bookcase and twirling her wand.

"Hello there," Bellatrix said. "So you've finally woken up. (It's about time.) Nice to see you, Hermione."

Hermione jumped out of bed, reaching for her wand…but she came up empty. She tried to apparate away but Bellatrix grabbed her arm. "Not so fast," she said. "I need you, and I'm not letting you get away."

Hermione struggled, but Bellatrix was too strong. As Bellatrix apparated them away Hermione's only thought was…what was Bellatrix doing here? When she was eleven, Bellatrix had been in Azkaban!

They appeared in front of a door. Bellatrix pushed her in and closed the door behind her, letting go of Hermione's arm. Hermione tried to apparate again. Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "I know what you're trying to do," she said. "You can't apparate in here, even if you had the strength and concentration to do it, which you don't. Sit down."

Hermione stayed standing.

"I said, _sit down._" Bellatrix said, and pushed her into a chair. "I have been freed from Azkaban," Bellatrix said.

So I'd noticed, Hermione thought.

"And I'm not going back there again!" She paused for a moment. "That's why I need you. The authorities are watching me—I can't do anything. That's why I'm going to pretend to be someone else."

Hermione got off the chair. Bellatrix was walking around and didn't stop talking.

"I have the whole thing planned out. I'm going to pretend to be a person named…" Bellatrix stopped. She hadn't actually thought of a name. "Er—Violet. Yes. And _you_," she said, pulling Hermione away from the door just as she reached for the knob, "Are going to be my daughter. Everyone knows I don't have a daughter, so they'll never suspect me of being me if I do. "_And_," she continued, "And…that's why I need you. So stop thinking about escaping." She paused. "I can't keep calling you Hermione, either, even if that is your name. —Wait!" she said. "I've got it. You can be called Viola." She smiled in satisfaction. "We'll start now. We've got to Mingle with Society, you know. I even bought bracelets." She pulled them from her purse. There were two of them. They were made of silver. One had a red jewel in it and the other had a green jewel. Bellatrix snapped the bracelet with the green jewel onto Hermione's wrist. Then she put on the other one.

"This bracelet," she explained, "Will stop you from escaping. It won't do anything nasty to you, don't worry—you just won't be able to escape as long as you wear it. And only the person wearing the red bracelet can take the green bracelet off. Got it?"

Hermione nodded. She was trapped—at least for now.

"Good," Bellatrix said. "Now come on, or we'll be late for the party!"

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	5. Welcome Home, Ron

Chapter 5 – Welcome Home, Ron

* * *

Ron woke up in his bed at The Burrow, feeling woozy. He stood up. He felt…different. Yes, there was something different about him, but he couldn't think what. Anyway, why was he in his bed? Hadn't he been looking at that suspicious Thing under the Invisibility Cloak with Harry and Hermione…what had happened? There was this blue light…

Ron got out of bed, and looked around. He went over to the mirror, and looked in it. He knew at once why he had felt different. He was younger than he had been. In fact, he was ten.

And he was _also_ Ginny.

Ron's mouth dropped open. This must be a nightmare, he thought. Yes, that was it. Soon he would wake up and he would be in the library at Hogwarts, trying to write an essay.

He pinched himself.

He didn't wake up.

Oh, no, Ron thought. He ran out of his room and into Ginny's. He pushed open the door and crashed through, to see…himself…on her bed.

"Ginny?" he asked.

"What?" the person on the bed said, looking over at him and stuffing something under his—her? Somebody's pillow. "Ginny, what are you doing?"

"Ginny?" Ron yelped. "I'm not Ginny!"

The Ron on the bed sat up and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, ok. Knock before you come in, will you?"

"No," Ron said, desperately, "Ron—you are Ron, aren't you? You've got to believe me. I'm not Ginny."

Ron looked at him skeptically.

"I'm not!" Ron said. He looked around the room wildly. "It was time travel!"

"Ginny, are you ok?" Ron asked.

Ron thought he almost looked really concerned. He scowled. Why wouldn't the kid believe himself?

He crossed his arms. "I'm a…girl," he said.

"Of course you're a girl," Ron said. "Look, stop joking."

"I'm not joking!" Ron said.

The other Ron stared at him.

They said nothing for a few moments.

Finally, Ron got himself under control. He smiled weakly. "Got you," he whispered.

"GINNY!" Ron threw something at him which he ducked, shutting the door behind him. He leaned on the door and slowly sank down to the floor. He couldn't believe it. He was Ginny. He was actually his little sister. What had happened to Harry and Hermione? Had they gone back in time too? If they were someone else, how would he ever find them again?!

"Calm down," Ron muttered. "Calm down. If they're here, they'll try to get to Hogwarts. You can meet them there."

But Ginny wasn't _going_ to Hogwarts this year.

He wasn't going to panic. He might be Ginny, but it was only temporary. Hermione would sort it all out, as soon as he found her. All he had to do was get to Hogwarts. He could do that. He'd figure something out.

Ron got up and wandered down the hall to his room. He shut the door behind him, slumped onto his bed, and buried his face in his pillow. "It's not fair," he moaned disconsolately. "I'm a _girl_."

How could this have happened to him?

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	6. Down a Dark Alley

Chapter 6 – Down a Dark Alley

* * *

Harry wandered around the city. He walked and walked, but he couldn't find anyplace that seemed familiar. And finally, he came to a dark alley.

Then he was set upon by robbers! They stole his shoes. They didn't steal the few coins in his pocket, they didn't steal his clothes, or his socks. Only his shoes.

Why would they only steal his shoes? That made no sense, Harry thought. What did they want with a pair of old trainers?

Well, it didn't really matter. The more important thing was that he was lost. And that he was shoeless. Harry groaned.

He kept walking, and soon caught sight of a police officer.

"Why don't you have any shoes?" the police officer asked as he went past.

"Um, there were thieves," Harry explained. "Down a dark alley."

The man looked skeptical. "Why would they steal your shoes?" he asked.

"I don't know," Harry said.

"Where's your parents?" the man asked.

"I don't have any," Harry said, trying to slip away. The police officer grabbed onto him. "What do you mean, you don't have any?" he said.

"I mean I don't."

"What about your guardians?"

"I don't have any," Harry said. He wasn't going to go back to the Dursleys, that was for certain.

"You don't have any?" the policeman asked.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Harry retorted. "Let go of me!"

"Come with me," the policeman said, dragging him along.

He pulled Harry around the corner, and Harry looked up at a place that shouldn't have existed. Not anymore.

It was very, very familiar.

The man walked into the building, and went to the lady sitting, bored, behind a desk. He spoke to her for a few moments, keeping a tight hold on Harry who was trying to slip away all the while.

Finally, the woman nodded and wrote something down, and the policeman left Harry.

Harry looked around, but he didn't need to. He knew where he was. He'd been here, in a memory. It was an orphanage—the very same orphanage Tom Riddle had grown up in.

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	7. Ron's Great Idea

Chapter 7 – Ron's Great Idea

* * *

Ron awoke the next morning. For a moment, he remained, blissfully ignorant of his situation, but then it came crashing in on him. The light, the wind. Yesterday. _He was Ginny_.

He came downstairs in a very bad mood, to see his mother looking at the clock on the wall.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "I don't know, Ginny. You're hand seems to be broken." And indeed, Ginny's hand was pointed at 'lost' and wasn't moving.

Ron felt a strange feeling open in his stomach as he stared at it. She was wrong, he thought—it wasn't broken at all.

Mrs. Weasley started to make breakfast. "I was looking at your spelling," she said.

"Oh?" Ron asked.

She started to talk. Ron nodded, muttering "yeah," and "m-hm," at the appropriate places, and feeling unexpectedly relaxed. Except for the nagging worry about Ginny, there was nothing horrible about to happen—nobody was going to get hurt, or escape from prison, or attack. He was in the past. His past! That meant he knew the future, right? He began to think of all the ways knowing the future could be useful.

"So," Mrs. Weasley finished. "Knowing that, how do you think you could fix the sentence?"

"Um," said Ron. What sentence? He had no idea what Ginny had written in her spelling book! Had his mom told him? He tried to remember…it was no use. "Um," he said again.

Just then, Fred and George came downstairs. Ron slipped away quickly.

And, then, he had an idea. It was a brilliant idea, an amazing idea, one worthy of Hermione. And in fact, it _was_ her idea.

Polyjuice Potion.

He could use Polyjuice Potion to become himself! He'd be able to get to Hogwarts, since Ron was going anyway.

He just needed to find the recipe…

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	8. Old Enemy

Chapter 8 – Old Enemy

* * *

Bellatrix dragged Hermione to the party—not literally this time, but Hermione didn't want to go. At all.

They were both dressed in a lot of black, lacy stuff—which looked good on Bellatrix, but did not look good on Hermione at all. Especially as she was only eleven.

Really, she thought as they appeared in front of a fancy house, why did Bellatrix want to go to a party? Hermione could think of at least a hundred things she would rather do if she got released from jail. Like, read a book, perhaps. Or, maybe, take a long vacation on the other side of the world.

She threw a sidelong glance at Bellatrix as they entered—she was acting, well, strange. Not like the woman she'd had encounters with in the past—no, make that the future, now. Had she really been like this, ever? Or was it all because she had pressed that button, that had made everything so crazy?

They finally came into a large room, with many people in it. There were tables with hors d'ouvres on it, and people were drinking and talking.

"Why don't you go along, somewhere?" Bellatrix said. "After all, you can't escape."

So you've told me already, Hermione thought. More than once.

But, even though Hermione really didn't want to go anywhere, she wanted to stay with Bellatrix even less. So she wandered off, and finally found herself leaning against a wall in a corner in the back of the room.

After a while, a boy who had been hanging out alone on the other side of the room came over to her. He stood next to her for awhile without speaking, looking out at the party. He seemed as bored as she did.

She stared at him.

"What?" the boy asked, finally.

"Nothing," Hermione said, and stopped staring at him—but she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

Really, what was the chances, she thought, that she would end up at a party with Draco Malfoy?

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	9. Harry Unknown

Chapter 9 – Harry Unknown

* * *

Incognito: ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Italian, literally 'unknown,' from Latin **_incognitus_**, from **_in- 'not' _**+ **_cognitus _**(past participle of **_cognoscere 'know' _**).

Anonymous: ORIGIN late 16th cent.: via late Latin from Greek **_anōnumos 'nameless' _**(from **_an- 'without' _**+ **_onoma 'name' _**) + **-ous **.

* * *

Harry may have been in the orphanage where Tom Riddle used to live, but in fact, he was unexpectedly happy. He didn't have to worry. There were no Dursleys, no Voldemort (at least until the annual June fight-between-good-and-evil) and nobody knew who he was, or cared. To everyone here, he was Harry. Just Harry. Not Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World, The Chosen One—none of that. He was just Harry.

Of course, Harry thought, there was the little problem of getting to Hogwarts—his friends would be sure to try to meet up there—but on the whole, it really didn't matter. There were a few months left before he had to go, anyhow. He'd think of something when the time came.

He had even made some friends—Alex, a boy his (physical) age, and a girl, Katie, who was only six. Alex treated Katie like a sister, though as far as Harry could tell, they weren't siblings.

Even the other kids liked him well enough—if they even knew of him. It was a kind of anonymity Harry had never known. Before he had gone to Hogwarts, everyone had known him as 'the freak', and in the Wizarding world, of course, the attention was of a different nature altogether. But now, he felt almost as though he were someone other than himself. In fact, Harry was feeling—what was it—not happy, but carefree. He was feeling carefree.

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	10. The List

Chapter 10 – The List

* * *

Ron sneaked downstairs that night, trying to find a book that would have the recipe for Polyjuice Potion in it. He searched and searched—they must have it _somewhere_, but where?

He was looking through a pile of books when he noticed something sneaking around next to him on the floor. He grabbed at it—it was Scabbers, otherwise known as Peter Pettigrew.

"Not you!" Ron said with a scowl. "If I didn't know you won't do anything I'd kill you."

The rat gave him a wary look and scurried away.

Ron groaned and turned back to the books, and began searching again.

Finally, almost at dawn, he found the book. A book of potions—it had the recipe in it. He stumbled upstairs and into his room, then looked at the list. His brain didn't seem to be working, he was so tired. He rubbed his eyes and glared down at the recipe.

"I should make a list," he said to himself. "I have to figure out when I need the ingredients, what to do with them…how to get them…well, some of these look easy enough to find, but…" He lay down on his bed, and looked through the pages. How would he get the other ingredients? He couldn't just steal them from Snape, this time.

How he wished his friends were here. Where were they now? _Who_ were they now? Would they ever…no, he wouldn't think of that, Ron decided.

"Right," he murmured. "So… first thing I have to do is this…"

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	11. A Promise

Chapter 11 – A Promise

* * *

Eventually, Malfoy asked, "So." He looked at her. "Who'd you come with?"

"Guess," Hermione answered.

Malfoy looked around the room for a few moments, appraisingly. "Hmmm. Bellatrix?"

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know?"

He smirked. "Well,_ maybe_ it was the matching dresses. And you don't look good in black lace either."

"I know," Hermione said shortly.

"So, why'd she bring you?" Malfoy asked.

"She kidnapped me."

"Oh." Malfoy answered slowly. "Too bad."

"Too _bad_!"

"Alright, alright, it's really bad. Awful. Why'd she want to kidnap you?"

Hermione explained about Bellatrix's crazy scheme.

Malfoy laughed. "Sounds like her."

Hermione crossed her arms. "I need to get to Hogwarts," she said.

"Really? Why?"

"Would _you_ want to live with Bellatrix all year?" she hissed.

"Not really."

"So, you see. I need to get to Hogwarts."

"I don't know if you can convince _her_ of that," Malfoy said.

"I have to."

"Well, I still don't think she'll listen to you."

Hermione started to say something, then she stopped. She turned to Malfoy. "Hey, you're related to Bellatrix, aren't you?"

"She's my aunt."

Hermione hadn't actually remembered that, she had just been hoping they were related in some way. "Good!" she said. "So you can talk to her! Convince her to let me go to Hogwarts!"

"Me?"

"Yes!"

"I can't do that. Once she's got an idea in her head…you really don't know how hard—"

"But you can do it!"

"Maybe."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, will you do it?" Hermione asked, her frustration rising.

Malfoy smiled. "I might. What'll you give me in return?"

"Give you?"

"Yeah."

"I…I don't have anything to give you."

"Well," Malfoy said, shrugging, "You can't expect me to do it for free, can you?"

Hermione bit her lip before she had the chance to say something that she'd regret. She took a deep breath. "What," she asked, quietly, "Do you want?"

"I want you," Malfoy said, "To be my friend."

"Be…your friend?"

"Yes. But you have to promise."

Hermione looked at Malfoy. He stared back at her.

"Well?"

She swallowed. "I promise."

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	12. Beetle Eyes

Chapter 12 – Beetle Eyes

* * *

Ron had done as much of the Potion as he could do without getting ingredients somehow. Accordingly, late at night, he took the broom he'd hidden under his bed, and opened the window, looking out. There was a light breeze, but the moon was full, so he'd be able to find his way to Diagon Alley easily. He swung himself over the broom and flew out.

It was very late by the time he got to London, though he'd been going as fast as he dared. He landed in Diagon Alley and crept into the Apothecary. He was wearing a cloak, so that no one would recognize him, but he was still nervous as he walked up to the counter.

There was a man, looking very bored, standing behind it. Ron walked up and handed over his list.

The man glanced over it with a raised eyebrow, but held out his hand for the money. Ron gave him all he'd been able to scrounge up, but he knew it wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry—" the man started to say.

"_Please_." There must have been something in his voice, because the man sighed. "Fine," he said. "Look, I have this barrel," he said. Ron looked into the barrel, which was hard, because it almost went up to his chin, to find it filled to the brim with beetles.

"I get these beetles in bulk," the man was explaining, "and then I have to pick the eyes off them. Now, if you can get the eyes off all those beetles before dawn, I'll give you everything you want. OK?" then he went into the back of the shop.

Ron looked at the barrel hopelessly. Take the eyes off every beetle in there? That was impossible.

He remembered that story Hermione had told him once, about—what was it, some Muggle story—Cinderella. Yeah. She had to do something like that, and a lot of ants helped her.

He looked around. No ants.

Well, birds then? They'd helped her too, hadn't they? With the lentils and rice?

No birds came to help him either.

"Figures," Ron muttered, and set to work.

When day broke, Ron awoke slumped halfway over the barrel, which was, he saw with a wave of dismay, still two-thirds full of beetles.

The man walked out into the front of the shop, and suddenly Ron realized his cloak had fallen off sometime in the night.

The man stared at him for a moment, and then looked into the barrel.

"I'm sorry," Ron started, "I couldn't do it all—"

But the man was speechless. Finally, he laughed. "You did all that? It would have taken me weeks! You don't know how much of a help you've been!"

"I have?" Ron asked blearily.

"Of course. I knew it was impossible to do all those beetles in only one night. In fact, you did so many of them—I'll give you what you wanted."

Ron grinned. "Thanks!"

He left the alley just as the sun began to shine over the houses, with everything he needed.

Of course, by the time he got home, he'd been missed. In fact, he got in so much trouble that he was grounded for the rest of the summer. That was useful for Ron, as he could get to brewing the Polyjuice Potion. He _was_ going to get to Hogwarts, he thought. It was going to work.

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	13. Recurring Serpent

Chapter 13 – Recurring Serpent

* * *

Harry's unexpected holiday didn't last forever. In fact, it ended sooner than he'd thought it would.

He, Alex, and a few other children were playing cops and robbers. Katie was playing too, but pretending to be a unicorn (she was helping out the good guys, she said). All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Harry saw, near Katie's feet, a poisonous snake! It was getting angry. It started to bite her!

"Stop!" Harry yelled.

The snake glared at him.

"Go away," Harry said.

It went away, sulkily.

This whole exchange was giving Harry a bad feeling. Something like this had happened in his second year, and now it had happened again. Why was he so unlucky?

On cue, everyone began to back away, leaving only Alex, looking nervous, and Katie confused.

Everyone had heard the stories of the boy who could speak to snakes. It had been passed down for years, like ghost stories—and now, here he was again!

Before Harry could try to explain, he was alone on the lawn with his friends. He sighed. Now what would happen?

What happened was that, before he knew it, he found himself in his own room. Which might have been nice, except it was a horrible, drab room, and it was also the one Tom Riddle had stayed in. Someone, Harry thought, must be playing a very strange joke on him. Maybe it was Voldemort's spirit haunting the walls of the orphanage or something.

Looking around, he shivered. On second thought... it was probably just a coincidence.

.

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	14. New Friend

Chapter 14 – New Friend

* * *

"Ok," Malfoy said. "You can start by…getting me a drink."

Hermione stared at him. "That's _not_ how you be friends with someone."

"It isn't?" he asked.

"No," said Hermione.

"Ok…how _do_ you be friends with someone?"

"You…you do things together that you like—that _both_ of you like."

"Well…how do you like Quidditch?"

Hermione didn't care for Quidditch very much. And she hated riding on brooms.

"Um…" she said.

"You don't like it."

"Not really."

"Fine. What about potions?"

"Potions?"

"Yeah. You know, making stuff?"

"I don't really…like…to make potions."

"Well," Malfoy asked, "What _do_ you like to do?"

"I…I like reading books. Do, um, do you like to read?"

"Well…_sometimes_. Is that _all_ you like to do?"

"No." She hesitated. "We—we can, we can, um, do potions!"

"But you said you _didn't_ like to make potions."

"Yes I do," Hermione said.

"No, you said you didn't."

"I did not!"

"Yes you did!" Malfoy exclaimed.

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

They kept arguing, getting louder and louder, until suddenly, they realized everyone was staring at them. They became quiet at once.

Finally, everyone began to look away, until they were again ignored in their corner of the room.

Malfoy sidled up to Hermione. "Sorry," he whispered.

Hermione stared at him without answer.

Malfoy looked embarrassed, and began to walk away. "That's all right," he said, "It doesn't matter, just forget about it—"

"No," said Hermione.

He turned. "What?"

"No. Yes! That's not—I mean—I'm sorry, too."

"Oh," he said, after a moment. He smiled.

She smiled back.

.

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	15. A Plan of Action

Chapter 15 – Plan of Action

* * *

Ron needed some of Other Ron's hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. He had finished making as much as he could ever need. Now, all he had to do was sneak into Ron's room at night, with a pair of scissors…

The day before everyone was to leave for Hogwarts, Ron came downstairs in a fury. Fred and George looked over at him.

"Hey, did you do something to you're hair?" George asked. "It looks different."

It was two inches shorter and looked like it had been cut by someone with their eyes closed.

"Someone," Ron growled, "cut my hair!"

"Really?" Percy asked.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Who was it?"

"It wasn't us!" Fred said.

Ron carefully didn't catch Other Ron's eyes as he focused on eating breakfast. He was afraid he'd laugh if he saw him. Upstairs, the Polyjuice Potion was ready for use. He only needed to wait one more day before he could stop being Ginny, and meet his friends again…

As soon as he got rid of Other Ron. He couldn't let Ron got to Hogwarts, because _he_ was going to be Ron.

He could always petrify him, and stick him in the attic…no, that was no good. He could petrify him, and stick him under the bed, and make an illusion of Ginny on the bed. Of course, it wouldn't actually _move_, and if you poked it, your hand would go through…and then they'd find Ron and know he was an imposter…but he _wasn't_ an imposter, really. And everyone would want to know why Ginny wanted to stay home… well, maybe if they thought he was sick…but then they'd get someone to stay with him. No, no, he had a better idea—he'd go to Platform 9 ¾ and while they were there, he'd … he'd figure something out. Maybe he could slip away, drink the potion, and then…and then…it didn't matter. It would work out somehow. It had to.

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End file.
